Reply #30: Because in everyday life it doesn't matter. [View All]

The scientists all use metric. Most of the engineers do, too. So their work is 100% compatible with work done overseas.


For everything else that's measured in units where unit consistency is not an issue (some metric units have an alphabet soup of base units after them), it really doesn't matter in day-to-day life.


Can of soda.... 12 ounces or 350 mL? Does it matter? The primary unit of measurement is the can, not the ounces or milliliters.

Measuring and cutting a board that's 4 feet long is about as easy as cutting a board that's 120cm long... stretch the tape, make a mark, and fire up the circular saw.



This fall, a deer hunter is going to wake up and go hunting in Wisconsin. He'll climb into his 1/2 ton pickup truck, fire up the 4.6L, 231-horsepower engine, and drive out to a patch of woods to go hunting. He'll take a nice buck with his favorite rifle, a 7mm Remington Magnum with a 26-inch barrel. He'll use a 150-grain soft-nosed bullet propelled by 53 grains of gunpowder. The range was a bit long, 330 yards, but his 4-12x40mm scope was sighted in properly and the animal dropped immediately. On the way home, he'll stop by the local quickie-mart to pick up a quarter-pound cheeseburger and a liter of Mountain Dew on his way to the butcher.



Of course, it could also go this way just as easily:

This fall, a deer hunter is going to wake up and go hunting in Wisconsin. He'll climb into his 1/2 tonne pickup truck, fire up the 281-cid, 172-kilowatt engine, and drive out to a patch of woods to go hunting. He'll take a nice buck with his favorite rifle, a .284 Remington with a 60-cm barrel. He'll use a 150-grain soft-nosed bullet propelled by 53 grains of gunpowder. The range was a bit long, 300 meters, but his 4-12x40mm scope was sighted in properly and the animal dropped immediately. On the way home, he'll stop by the local quickie-mart to pick up a Royale With Cheese and a quart of Mountain Dew on his way to the butcher.